The last installment of this very impromptu ‘gym ownership’ series features the timeline I would take if I was 25 year old Casey hell-bent on opening up my doors.

1) I would develop a client roster of 45+ individuals of 5+ years of coaching experience

Why? Whether you are looking to be strictly 1on1, offer semi-private coaching, or even large group sessions, you’re going to need body’s.

Newsflash! You will not have 100% of your clients leave the comfort of their routine and join you at your new spot. People love their routine, yes they love you, but they love the comfort of what they know.

The bottom line, make sure you have a client roster that can handle attrition AND can fill spots in your service offerings when the time comes.

2) I would have 2-4 years of management experience - specifically in financial management.

If you’ve never seen a P/L report, entered payroll, managed employee benefits, or know how a tax ID applies to your business- slow. down.

If you’re reading this you are probably an excellent technician of your craft. Being a great Coach is very different than being great at managing a business.

The bottom line, make sure you get your business reps in. Make low-pressure mistakes in the environment you are familiar with before going in to a high pressure situation with banks ready to repo your car to cover any debt you may have.

3) I would have a big role in our internship program as early as possble

This one is pretty off-script, but hear me out.

If you read part two of this series then you know I would have gone back and asked myself if I could teach. Building off that notion of teaching…Having a kick ass internship program helps establish the skills and experience of creating a program, resourcing people for that program, developing the education and curriculum layout, and then coaching and developing people in that program.

The bottom line, being able to teach your system is one thing, but having the experience of getting your system down on paper and implementing it is invaluable. Again, practice these reps in a low risk environment BEFORE your doors open and things start moving at 100mph!